Broker fees in the city are typically about 15 percent of the annual rent, which when combined with the first month of rent and a security deposit can mean tenants must come up with a five-figure sum just to move in. For instance the broker fee for a Manhattan apartment asking the borough’s median rent of nearly $3,100 would be about $5,580.
The real estate industry, which argued that such a ban was a “death knell” for agents and brokerages, filed for a temporary injunction and sought to overturn the guidance.
The core question of the case was whether or not lawmakers and the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 intended to ban the tenant-pays practice.